In the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (#5107)
The Thurman and Ecklin families lived in Shelby and Fayette counties in west Tennessee during the Civil War era. Sallie Ecklin married John P. Thurman in 1856
The collection consists of letters chiefly received by Sallie Ecklin Thurman, most of them from John P. Thurman, but also from family members and school friends from the Macon Female Institute. Before the Civil War, topics chiefly reflect Sallie Ecklin's life as a young woman. Her letters concern everyday family affairs; her experiences at the Macon Institute, including a description of a student who had to leave school because the two slaves sent with her to work in lieu of tuition ran away; and the beginning of her romance with John P. Thurman. After 1861, letters focus almost exclusively on how the Civil War affected family members. In addition to reporting on the local news from Hickory Withe, Tenn., Sallie Ecklin Thurman's letters to her husband describe raising three small children and running a farm in his absence. On several occasions, she made reference to difficulties with slaves. John P. Thurman's letters home document his military service with the Third Tennessee Cavalry Regiment (Forrest's), and, although he was a firm southern partisan, contain criticisms of the southern war effort and of the Confederacy. They describe taking part in many battles and raids along the Mississippi River and its environs, including the Battle of Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing. Beverly S. Thurman, John P. Thurman's brother, wrote of his military service with the Fourth Tennessee Calvary Regiment (Neely's). Also included are six portrait photographs taken from a federal vessel that was captured by Forrest's cavalry on the Mississippi River. The Addition of 2007 is a letter to John P. Thurman from his sister Kate in which she discusses family affairs and the economy
